The Education Department moved Friday to rewrite the rules governing college accreditors, tightening oversight and shortening the review timeline for new agencies. Under Secretary Nicholas Kent announced regulatory changes that make it faster to recognize alternative accrediting bodies and called for accreditors to prioritize measurable student outcomes over legacy practices. The department said applicants must demonstrate at least two years of prior accrediting activity and pledged to complete reviews in under a year. The policy supplants long-standing protections that many institutions and traditional accreditors viewed as barriers to market entry. The administration framed the change as a competition strategy to push campuses to improve graduation rates, workforce alignment and cost transparency. Allison Garrett and others warned of “accreditor shopping,” a risk regulators will need to manage. Colleges face immediate operational choices: stay with legacy accreditors facing increased political scrutiny or seek new recognition that could bring faster regulatory flexibility but uncertain quality oversight. The change is likely to trigger near-term planning among boards and provosts weighing partnership options and potential accreditation transitions.